Summary
Using the Congressional Review Act, the House will overturn the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Stream Buffer Rule this Wednesday, a regulation intended to protect surface water from mining operations. However, this is an ineffective attempt to improve the environment as mines saddled with this regulation already have virtually no off-site impact.
It’s just another way the unaccountable bureaucracy is imposing all pain for no gain.
The Effect
Up to 64% of the country’s coal reserves would be put off limits because of this rule, according to the National Mining Association.
The rule threatens between 40,000 to 78,000 mining jobs and could kill up 281,000 total jobs.
Who it Hurts
These are more than numbers. These are people who lose their jobs—people like Danny Hepburn who was laid off from his coal job at a struggling mine just months after his first child was born. His pay was slashed from more than $1,000 per week to just $364 in unemployment benefits. The coal industry is being dragged down by debt, foreign competition, and a downturn in the coal market. Taking another stab at the mining industry with punitive regulations directly hurts people like Danny Hepburn.
Why We’re Doing This
The bureaucracy is a threat to our
· Economy
· Constitution
· and People
The House has already passed legislation to change the structure in Washington so the federal bureaucracy is subject to the people and so we stop getting the same bad results year after year. Now, we’re targeting specific harmful regulations and stripping them off the books.